If possible, with a partner, brainstorm and respond to the following questions:

• What attributes come to mind if someone is labelled a rebel?
• What attributes come to mind if someone is labelled a patriot?

Make a list of these attributes. Is there anything similar with these two labels?

Consider:

• How would you define resistance? Rebellion?
• Are they the same? Or different?
• What role does power play in these definitions?
• What role does perspective play in these definitions?

Record your ideas in a notebook or a method of your choice.

As we work towards Truth and Reconciliation, information about lands and territories is constantly being updated. This map was created using information available as of July 2021 from The Canadian Encyclopedia.

The Red River Resistance (also known as the Red River Rebellion) was an uprising from 1869-1870 in the Red River Colony. In 1869, the Hudson’s Bay Company sold Rupert’s Land to the Dominion of Canada for $1.5 million. The amount of land in this transaction amounted to almost seven million acres, all without consulting the Indigenous peoples.

The Canadian government appointed English-speaking Governor William McDougall to govern the area, which today is known as Manitoba. The Métis were surprised by this transfer of their homeland and felt that the Hudson’s Bay Company did not possess the right to sell their territory without consultation or consent. The Métis were Roman Catholic and spoke French and many feared that their language and religion would soon be replaced. They were concerned that their traditional ways of life would be destroyed.

Before the land was officially transferred, the Métis, led by Louis Riel, prevented McDougall from entering the territory. McDougall argued that Hudson’s Bay Company was no longer in control and that the transfer of ownership should be postponed. Louis Riel would help to organize the National Committee of the Métis, and help form and lead a Provisional (temporary) government to negotiate directly with the Canadian government, to establish Manitoba as a Canadian province.

The provisional government, which was made up of both English and French Métis created a list of rights. The list included the request for bilingual schools, that the Métis would have the right to elect their own government and that English and French would be spoken and used equally. These requests were presented to the Canadian government.

Meanwhile, Riel’s men arrested men who resisted the provisional government. Thomas Scott, a surveyor with the Canadian government, was arrested and eventually executed for treason. His death caused an outrage in Ontario, and many called for the arrest of Riel.

In 1870, the Parliament of Canada passed the Manitoba Act and Manitoba became Canada’s fifth province, although the government did not recognize Louis Riel and the Métis as its founders. The entry of Manitoba into Confederation soon saw an influx of Ontarian and French-Canadian settlers who soon outnumbered the Métis.

These newcomers were hostile to the Métis' desire to assert their rights and often persecuted the Métis. Hostilities and tensions emerged and in August, the Red River Expeditionary Force, commanded by Colonel Garnet Wolseley was sent by Ottawa to “pacify” the region. He arrived in Manitoba with about 1,000 troops and began a reign of terror against Métis citizens. In the face of fear and violence, more than half of the Métis in the province of Manitoba left for the Northwest Territories or the Dakota territory. Warned by many that he would be harmed because of his leadership role, Louis Riel fled to the United States of America.

Source: Beal, Bob. “Red River Expedition.” Red River Expedition | The Canadian Encyclopedia, The Canadian Encyclopedia, 7 Feb. 2006, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/red-river-expedition.

Source: Canadian Geographic. “Red River Resistance.” Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, Canadian Geographic, 5 June 2018, https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/article/red-river-resistance/.

The North-West Resistance (also known as the North-West Rebellion) was a violent five-month conflict in 1885 between the Canadian government and mainly the Métis and their First Nations allies, in what is present-day Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Although the Métis were given representation in the 1880s, the Métis remained frustrated that the federal government did not address their request for greater political representation and formal title to their lands. The increasing number of settlers arriving in the West drove away the buffalo and many Métis feared that they would soon be dispossessed like they had during the Red River Rebellion.

The Métis leaders held several meetings trying to find ways to get the government to recognize their rights as a people and resolved to bring Louis Riel back. Louis Riel, who had living in Montana, returned and urged all dissatisfied people in the North-West to unite and press their case to the Prime Minister. Riel also sent John A. Macdonald a petition on behalf of the Métis nation asking for a separate provincial status. Macdonald and the Canadian government failed to respond.

In March of 1884, an armed force of Métis formed a provisional government and occupied the community of Duck Lake. A force of 100 North-West Mounted Police and armed citizen volunteers descended on Duck Lake. As negotiations ended in confusion, police and volunteers fired on the Métis. The battle ended shortly after with injuries and deaths on both sides.

In Ottawa, the reaction was swift and over 5,000 troops were mobilized into the area at the Battle of Batoche led by General Middleton. The Métis and Cree were on the defensive and the odds were against them. On May 9, 1885, Middleton and his men attacked the village of Batoche. The fighting lasted for four days before Middleton and his men finally won. Louis Riel managed to escape the battle but surrendered to the Canadian army eight days later.

At Louis Riel’s trial, he was found guilty of treason, but the jury recommended mercy. If Riel was executed, it would bring conflict to French Canada. John A. Macdonald refused to intervene and did not pardon Riel for his actions. Macdonald believed that Riel had led an armed rebellion against the government, which resulted in the death of more than 200 people. Louis Riel was hung to death on November 17, 1885.

Source: Beal, Bob, and Rod Macleod. “North-West Resistance.” North-West Resistance | The Canadian Encyclopedia, The Canadian Encyclopedia, 7 Feb. 2006, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/north-west-rebellion.

Source: Canadian Geographic. “1885 Northwest Resistance.” Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, Canadian Geographic, 15 June 2018, indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/article/1885-northwest-resistance/.